A Living Dream, Sequel to A Dream Come True
by Gadjo
Summary: Newly recreated Tom must figure out how to help his best friend, Harry.
1. Chapter 1

Standing still was a fascinating experience

**A Living Dream**

**By Gedri**

**Part 1**

Standing still was a fascinating experience. After years of not having a body of his own, the newly're-created' Tom Marvolo Riddle was strangely content to be perfectly still and just experience the joy of standing. He could feel his own heart beating. Feel the air as it moved in and out of his lungs. Feel the slight twitch and shift of his leg muscles as they worked to keep him upright. Even the feel of the air as it moved across his skin was fascinating after not feeling it for so long. It was the sound of a soft, pain-filled moan that finally forced him to remember that he wasn't alone.

Open his eyes slowly; he stared through the late night darkness at the small form lying before him. Frail bone-like limbs lay awkwardly beneath a blanket more rightly called a rag. Dark hair laid sweat limp above a face whose unnatural paleness was disguised by a mask of bruises and dried blood. So thin and still, it was only the shallow rise and fall of his breathing that gave any proof that the boy was even alive.

Walking carefully, he was amazed at how natural it felt even though he had to momentarily lean against a weak, and rickety desk to keep himself from falling over. Having gone without the use of legs for so long, it would apparently take a few second to get the hang of it again. With a few tentative steps and leg wiggles, he was finally able to make his away across the room and drop less than gracefully to rest sitting on the floor next to his Savior's bed.

With gentleness that few would believe him capable of, Tom- as he now chose to solely think of himself- brushed a stray strand of hair away from the younger boys face. "What happened to you?" He whispered nervously as he got a better look at how much damage that had been done to the younger boy. "Where are your friends? Why aren't you being protected from me?" Even as he spoke, he began to carefully remove the thin rag covers. Freezing at each hitch of the sleeping boy's breath, he gently dropped it to the floor and knelt in disbelief.

"_**Reviolio Infermio Degrios"**_

Looking at the rainbow of colors that now glowed from nearly every inch of the sleeping body, Tom forced himself to focus on the overall lack of darker colors. If he looked too long at just how much color was showing altogether, he feared his anger would interfere with the delicate spell. Drawing his 'new' wand, he marvel yet again at the fact that the boy before him, too weak to even lift his head or open his eyes, had somehow been able to do something that, even having experience it, he couldn't even begin to describe or believe had happened. A wand was made from entirely magical components and impossible to duplicate, yet in his hand rested the twin to his own. How the young boy even knew what his wand core was was a question he would have to ask as soon as the boy was aware enough to speak.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm himself, a distracted and excited mind not being conducive to intricate medical spells, he began to heal his companion. First, he healed the broken bones: one arm, three ribs, seven fingers, one leg, one ankle, six toes, one crushed vertebrae, a smashed nose, and several small cracks in the facial bones around the jaw, nose, and eyes. Then, he cast a relaxation charm on all of the muscles to try and stop the random twitches and spasms that had been causing pain. A more difficult absorption and redistribution spell slowly drew the blood out of the slowly filling lungs and a general healing spell closed up the holes. A cooling charm to keep the rising fever at bay and a disinfection charm to remove the inflammation he could already feel in several of the smaller cuts and scrapes. A general cleaning charm to remove all of the dried blood and sweat on the boy's skin as well as the bed, "blanket", and clothing around him. Feeling lightheaded, the technically 2-hour old boy decided he had done enough for now. His companion was clean and out of pain. All of his bones were healed and various internal organs made whole. The bruises weren't causing any pain and could wait until later to be removed.

With the door still locked, and not wanting to risk opening it and using magic out side the room incase whatever protection had so far kept the Ministry from noticing the use of underage magic disappeared, he looked around the room for a place to rest. A rickety chair that looked like it was being held together by tape and hope. An old desk with a wobbly leg evened with a wad of folded paper. A small closet that was full of old toys and junk. Looking back at the still sleeping form, he made up his mind. If they were really going to be 'best friends' then they should at least be able to lie next to each other. Uncomfortable and small though the bed looked, it was better than lying down on a hard floor already splattered with blood and piles of empty cans of animal food. Carefully lifting the other boy into a more comfortable position, he lowered himself onto the mattress and took a moment to wonder why he felt so calm and relaxed in a room that looked eerily like those he had once kept prisoners in. Absently casting proximity wards to warn them if anyone came near, the once Dark Lord, now seemingly 13-year old Tom, relaxed fully for the first time since he truly was an innocent infant… all of his peace thanks to the unconscious child whose heartbeat he now let lull him to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

A Living Dream

**A Living Dream**

**Chapter 2**

It was cool. That was the first sensation that filtered through the still foggy mind of the boy-who-lived. The stifling heat that had begun to cook him from the inside was gone. His ribs felt better; taking a tentative breath proved that the stabbing ache had vanished. His hand didn't ache and a slight wiggle of his fingers didn't make him want to scream. Lifting his arm slowly, he opened his eyes to mere slits and looked at his hands. His fingers were all straight, his elbow wasn't bending at a strange angle, and his shoulder didn't feel swollen. Blinking twice, he opened his eyes wider and was shocked to be able to open them fully without pain.

_Okay, what is going on?_ Starring at the ceiling above him, he could feel the springs and coils of his old mattress still pressing into his back so he knew that he was still in his cage at the Dursleys. He was healed, but still at the Dursleys. Something must have happened, but what? _If a wizard had healed me, why did they leave me locked up instead of either taking me to Hogwarts or just finishing the job and killing me themselves?_

Moving his leg just to prove that it too was healed, he suddenly froze. _That was a leg. I just hit someone else's leg with my leg. Someone else is in my bed for me to kick in the leg with my leg. WHY is someone else in my bed? WHO is in my bed?_ Fighting the urge to scramble away, years of abuse having taught him that fighting and running only made the pain ultimately worse, he slowly turned his head toward where he could now feel another person beside him.

The first thing he saw was a mop of dark hair almost as wild as his own. _So, whoever it is has short dark hair, that doesn't really cut it down too much. Can't be any of my friends though, the Weasley's would have red hair, and 'Mione has brown hair_. Looking down the other person's body, he was surprised to see dark robes. _He is a wizard. But why, by Merlin, is he asleep in bed with me?!_ Lifting his head just a little, he confirmed his suspicions. _I have a male wizard in bed with me. I have a male wizard, wearing what look like Hogwart's student robes, lying in bed with me. _Pushing his arms carefully beneath him, he slowly pushed himself toward the foot of the bed. Barely moving a few inches, he froze when he saw the other boys head turn sleepily toward him. Frozen by shock, he watched as the others head all but snuggled into the limp pillow and drifted back to sleep.

_It's impossible. I'm dreaming. Yep, I'm still lying there dying and this is all some weird dream/hallucination caused by a too high fever and not having eaten for a few days. _Moving back to his original position, the now shocked child lay back down and stared at the face just inches from his own. _Tom._ Just thinking the name, he felt tears come to his eyes. _I wish you were real. I had a dream that you were real, that I had used magic to bring you back to life and you were my best friend. _Seeing the other boy's nose twitch in his sleep, Harry smiled. _I never realized my imagination was this good. _Lying still, free from pain and content with the fact that he was actually just dreaming as his real body waited to die, he reached out and gently ran a lock of the other boys hair though his fingers. _Wow, it's so soft. It feels like the fur from one of Mrs. Figg's cats. _Continuing to pet the other boys hair, he smiled and wondered if his imagination would let the other person wake up or if he was simply going to lie here with his friend until he finally just fell asleep and died.

_Doesn't matter, I'm happy to just lie here with Tom and pretend we're really friends having a sleepover._


	3. Chapter 3

A Living Dream

**A Living Dream**

**Chapter 3**

_Someone is touching my hair. Someone is PETTING my hair_. Peeking his eyes open barely enough to see, the still drowsy boy saw is former rival lying beside him. _Why is he petting my hair?_ Lowering his head in feigned sleep, he opened his eyes a bit wider now that they couldn't be seen. _By the brightness, it must be morning. _Trying to figure out what he should do next, he nearly gave himself away by stiffening when he felt the fingers stop before returning to playing with his hair.

"Morning, Tom." _How does he know I'm awake?_

"I know you can't wake up. I mean, I'm surprised my imagination is good enough to even make you look this real." _He thinks I'm imaginary? Or does he just mean he still believes me to be just the empty shell he created last night?_

"I'm going to pretend that you're awake and are just being lazy." Giggling like a small child, or someone having a slow mental breakdown, Tom could feel the other boy move to a more comfortable position; the others head now resting even closer to his own.

"I used to dream of having a friend that I could spend the night with. I knew I could never have anyone come here, we'd never have fit into the cabinet together." _Cabinet? "_I used to close my eyes tightly and tell myself that I was somewhere else and that there was someone lying beside me. We were the bestest friends ever and he would never ever abandon me no matter what the Dursley's and other people said about me. He would help me hide from Dudley and Uncle Vernon and, when I was punished, he would sneak food to me so I wouldn't be hungry. He would never believe rumors about me because he was my friend and friends trust each other first and everyone else second." Hearing a slight hitch in the others voice, Tom "sleepily" moved his arm to brush against the other's side.

"Yea, I know. I need to stop feeling sorry for myself. I just have to accept that I'm not meant to have friends who actually care about me. I am a freak in the Muggle world and a Useless-Savior in the Wizard world." _He must really like my hair; he hasn't taken his fingers off of it yet. Though, it is kind of a nice feeling. Mmm… that scalp massage thing feels really good._ Moving his head a little, he almost smiled when the other boy took the hint and continued his impromptu massage.

"Can you believe I even named my imaginary friend Tom? It wasn't you, of course. I'd never even hear of you back then. But, my imaginary Tom and I were best friends and I was never alone as long as he was around. He was my protector when people called me names and said that I should have died with my parents. He was my provider when I wasn't allowed any food or water. Most importantly, though, he was just my friend. He was my proof that I wasn't a waste of space, that I wasn't just a useless brat. As long as I had Tom, I had a friend. And, if I had a friend, then I must be important or why would he like me? Too bad Tom wasn't real, and you're just a figment of my deathbed dream.

Not that you aren't a good dream!" _Ouch, ease up on the hair pulling or I'm going to go bald here._ "You're a great dream. Please don't vanish now. I'll be good and I won't touch you anymore. I'll just look. I'll be good. Just, please, I don't want to die alone!" Hearing the muffled sobs he felt the hands suddenly leave his hair as though to prove that he could 'be good' and 'just look'. _I guess we have more in common that I though._

Moving slowly, not wanting to frighten the already emotionally fragile young man, he lifted his head and opened his eyes.

_Let's hope you consider finding a real Dark Lord in your bed a good thing. _


	4. Chapter 4

A Living Dream

**A Living Dream**

**Chapter 4**

_He's going to vanish_._ I said he wasn't real and now he'll vanish and I'll be alone locking inside my head until I finally die. Why did I say anything? I should have known better than to think out loud._ "Please don't make me die alone." _He's moving. He's going to get up and walk away. Or he'll get up and scream and beat me. Or he'll get up and laugh at me. Or he'll…_

_WOW! _"Beautiful" _He can blush. He has beautiful eyes and he can blush. I didn't know I was this imaginative. I didn't know I thought he'd blush. Did I? Did I know I knew I wanted him to blush? Did I know I knew that I wanted him to _

"Potter"_ He's mad! _Scrambling backwards, I quickly get off the bad and stand with my back against the wall. _Keep my head down, they like me to look young and frightened. Keep my hands open so they don't think I'll fight back. Keep my eyes closed so I don't see them smirking and laughing at me. Can't hide in my head, I'm already there. This is a dream but I made it turn into a nightmare. I'm so stupid. I should have been happy just_

"Harry?" _Um… why is he talking so softly? Why isn't he hurting me yet?_

Lifting his head one centimeter at a time, the terrified boy nervously peeked through the falling fringe of his hair. _He doesn't look angry, but it could be a trick. But why would I trick myself? _

"Harry? Can you hear me? It's me, Tom. I just want to help you back to bed so you don't hurt yourself any more." _Hurt myself? How could I hurt myself? Isn't the fact that I'm dying already make hurting myself pointless?_

"I can't hurt myself. This is just dream. You can't feel pain in a dream. Where did I learn that? A book, I must have read it somewhere. Wonder why I was reading about"

"Harry"

_Why does he keep saying my name? Why hasn't he started calling me a "Freak" yet? Why hasn't he called me "Boy" yet? Is he_

_He touched me_. Standing completely still, not a single muscle daring to so much as twitch, I stared at his long fingers as they gently curled around my arm. _His fingers are so warm. And, he has calluses. I always knew he'd have calluses. I bet he did lots of writing. He was head boy. He probably took lots of notes. Bet he was popular too. He would have laughed at me. He would have hated me. Teased me…Dumb freak… Good for nothing…Stupid… Lazy_

"HARRY! Come on now. It's just a few steps."

_Umm… Why is he being nice? Can't be real._ "No one is nice unless they want something. But you're a dream. Can't you be nice without wanting something?" Staring at the taller boy slowly guiding him back towards his bed, he tried to look hopeful that he wouldn't be hurt anymore, but instead resembled a puppy who knew he would be kicked for coming closer but was too desperate for even that momentary acknowledgement to stay away.

"Shhhh… Harry. It's all right. You've already done more for me than I could ever express. Just let me take care of you."

_NO!! WHY?? _

Frozen in place, too scared to move and still too weak to fight, the tired boy just bowed his head in shamed resignation.

"I won't fight you. I guess even I think that I deserve it."


	5. Chapter 5

**A Living Dream**

**Chapter 5**

_What is he talking about?_

Guiding the still disoriented boy closer to his bed had been easy before but, now, he stood completely frozen in place.

"What do you think you 'deserve'?" Knowing already that he would hate the answer; an increasingly horrified Tom Riddle steeled himself for whatever the poor orphan beside him would say. Giving the tense shoulders an encouraging squeeze, he willed the smaller boy to surprise him. _Please say something, ANYTHING, except..._

"I deserve to be… punished." Whispered barely loud enough to be heard, the bowed head seemed to lower even more in expectation of a fist soon meeting it.

_Oh, Harry!_ Forcing himself to relax his grip on the slumped shoulder, he slowly took a deep breath to keep himself from accidentally frightening his skittish companion.

"Harry?" Giving the shoulder a slight shake, he tried to bring a bit more awareness into the still dazed form. "Harry, can you look up at me?"

"Please? I remember you had such nice green eyes. Slytherin Eyes. Can I see them again?" _And wouldn't my arrogant followers just laugh to see their 'Dark Lord' begging a weak, wisp of a boy, too young to even apparate, just to look at him. _"Come on, Harry. You have my word that I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk to you. I want to be your friend. But, it's hard to be friends with someone that won't even look at me. Is my hair funny looking or something?"_ Please, child- Harry, please look up from the floor._

His head still lowered, Avada Kedavra colored eyed slowly peeked up before falling back to the floor as though pulled by gravity. _Thank You, Merlin! _"That's it, Harry. I won't hurt you for looking at me. You can look anywhere you want. I won't punish you for looking around."

"Can't look people in the eyes. People don't like freaks acting as if they're normal. Have to keep my eyes down like a good servant. Don't deserve to look around. Have to make sure the floor is clean. Have to make sure I don't trip and spill their food. Disgusting boy. Have to keep my eyes down like a good little freak."

_That is IT! _"You aren't a freak, Harry! You aren't a servant. You are a wonderful, powerful wizard who deserves to make THEM look down when they come near YOU." _Oh, child, we are just too much alike. I will never hurt you! _

Shocked at his sudden realization, the most feared wizard in the world stared in amazement at the small form beside him.

_I won't hurt you… _

_Even if my body disappears tomorrow, I will still stay and try to defend you. We are too alike. You are truly my equal, Harry. We are bound by too many bonds for me to leave you. And if it is the last thing I do, I will make your realize just how powerful you really are. _

"I'm bad. I should have died with my parents. I should have killed Voldemort AND all his followers. I should be taller. I should be a HERO; I'm not. I'm a freak. I'm ugly. I'm stupid. I don't know ANYTHING about how to be a real wizard. Muggles think I'm a criminal. I should have died and then no one would be stuck with me. They wouldn't have to feed me or take care of me and no one would have to pretend to care about me. I'm just bad." Drifting from a normal voice to nearly a yell and then down to barely a whisper, the weakened boy seemed to fold into himself even more. "I won't fight you. I know you have to beat me up now for being so noisy."

_Oh, Harry, I will have you screaming your vengeance to the world before I am done. _"How about we make a deal, Harry?" Slowly continuing to rub the smaller boys shoulder, he tried not to notice just how obvious the feeling of each protruding bone really was.

"Come on. We can make a special deal only between the two of us. No one else will know about it. Okay? Will you agree to make a deal with me, Harry?"

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_What is going on? Why hasn't he beat me up yet? Or yelled at me? Or locked me in here all alone? And, and why is he still here? Why haven't I woken up yet? Or even died yet? Or, am I already dead and this is… is that what he wants? Is he trying to make a deal for my soul or spirit or something?_

"You want to make a deal for my soul? You can have it if you just stop me from hurting any more. I'll probably go to hell anyway so you can have my soul if you want it."

_Will that make him happy? Will he make the pain stop now? _

"Shhh… No, Harry, I don't want your soul." _'course he doesn't want it. It's probably as rotten as the rest of me. Useless. Stupid. _

"Harry!"

_Right. _Slowing raising his eyes just enough to focus on the more regal boy's chest. He tried to focus. _Maybe he'll finally tell me what I have to do to make him kill me._

"Harry, child, do you want to make a deal with me? It won't be for your soul, but I promise that if you make this promise I'll protect your soul even better than I do my own. And" _Why is he touching my face!? Why is he FORCING me to look right at him?! _ "And, Harry, if you make this deal with me I promise I will do everything I can to stop all of your pain. I won't let anyone hurt you. I will be your protector, Harry. But you have to agree to my deal."

_He'll stop all my pain… but what does he want? No one helps me without wanting something. But, maybe it'll be something small? Maybe he just wants to make me his servant like the Dursley's did. I'm good at cleaning; I wouldn't mind working if I wasn't in pain. _

"All right. I agree." _Is that enough? Do I have to do something first?_

"Don't you even want to know what the deal is?" _He's still touching my face. And he's got his other hand on my shoulder. Why is he touching me? No one ever touches me unless their hitting me. His hands feel so warm. Their nice…But he asked a question. What was it? What am I supposed to say? What if I say the wrong thing! Will he leave? I don't want to be alone. He said he'd take the pain away! He was lying. Stupid boy, of course he was lying. Why would he help you. You're nothing. You're a FREAK!_

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"HARRY!" Quickly sliding his hand around to the smaller boys back, he pulled the suddenly shaking form against his own. _Oh, child, what horrors are in the mind of yours now. _

"Shhh, child. It's all right. Calm down now. No one is hurting you. No one will hurt you! You're all right now." All but lifting the too small form, he quickly propelled them the last few steps to the bed and gently pulled the still shaking body down with him.

"Harry? Can you hear me? You don't have to say anything, just squeeze my hand if you can hear me." _Come on child. Please. Whatever you're thinking, whatever horrors you're imagining, BREAK FREE. Come one, please, child. _

_YES!! _"That's great, Harry. Good now, just listen to me for one second now. I need you do one thing for me and then you can go to sleep and rest and get all better. I just need you to do your part of the deal remember. We have to make our deal and then I can be your protector and no one will be able to hurt you any more." _Please. I don't beg, child, but I will if I have to. _"It's an easy deal. You just need to do one little thing and then I promise I'll take over and you can rest."

"What, um, what do I have to do, Sir?"

_SIR? What ARE you thinking? Doesn't matter, we'll sort it all out once you are safe. Who knows how long whatever magic is shielding this room with last. The LAST thing either of us need is some do-gooder Ministry worker showing up and finding a half-dead boy-hero and a reborn Dark Lord. _

"It's easy, Harry. All you have to do is…"


	6. Chapter 6

"It's easy, Harry. All you have to do is… trust me to apparate us someplace safe. It might hurt because you're so weak but I promise it will be better soon." _Of course, it will hurt. Everyone likes to hurt me. I wonder if that's why my parents died, because they knew it would hurt me? Oh, he's talking again. Why does he keep making me look up when he talks to me? Is he hoping to make me forget the rules so he can hurt me later for disobeying?_

"I need you to really trust me and not fight me while I take us there. It might hurt right now but, if you just trust me, I'll never let anyone ever hurt you this much again." _Does that mean that only HE will be able to hurt me this much? That wouldn't be too bad. He isn't as big as Uncle Vernon so maybe he won't hit as hard. And, if he does use magic, maybe, he'll be willing to heal me with magic too. That wouldn't be too bad. He would hurt me, but I'd be protected from anyone else trying to hurt me._

"Can you do that Harry? Can you trust me to help you even though it might hurt?" _Why does he need me to trust him? He can just force me to do what he wants. But, maybe it's a magic thing and I'm just too stupid to understand. Yeah, that must be it. Any REAL wizard would have understood right away but I'm too stupid. I'm just a freak. I can't understand anything. I'm…_

"HARRY. Focus please. Just trust me and then you can rest and stare at the wall until you feel better. But first, I need to get us somewhere safer than a bloody muggle bedroom-turned-prison cell."

_I made him angry. I'm so stupid. Eyes on the floor. Shoulders lowered. Protect my chest and stomach. _"I'm sorry, Sir. I'll trust you, Sir. I won't disobey, Sir. I'll let you apparate us, Sir." _Please let that be good enough. I don't know what else to say. Please please let me finally have done something right._

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_Oh, Harry, I can truly see so many echo's of myself in you. But where I challenged the world to dare harm me again, you have simply surrendered. I swear, though, I WILL have you become the wizard you are meant to be. We will be equals one day and no one else will ever need suffer the way we have. We will show the world what it means to abuse and abandon its future. But we will not do it with fire as I have already proven will fail... you and I will do it as brothers, as children who will lead without my stigma of having a "muggle" father or you're cursed "prophesied destiny"_. _We will re-enter the world as whoever we wish to be. But we will do it TOGETHER. It shall be us against the world, and the world will have no chance. Before it knows what is happening, we will have already won!_

"It's fine, Harry. You are doing great. I'm very proud of how well you've done so far. How about we make a deal first? Right here, we can make a deal. Can you look at me; we have to look each other in the eyes for the deal to work. You promise to trust me while I get us out of here, and I'll promise not to get mad at you for anything you do. Deal? Does that sound like a good deal, Harry? Can you look at me and agree to the deal?"

_Please, Harry. Oh child, please agree and I'll have us out of here and you can forget these disgusting muggles and their obvious torture ever existed. Once we are free of this Merlin-forsaken place I will teach you so much, show you so much; we will make sure no one ever again suffers as we have. We will rule the way we have always been meant to. We are gods among fools and we shall all too soon show them why a god's wrath is something to fear!_

"Please, Harry. We are best friends. We are brothers. You can trust me. Just look at me and say you trust me and we can leave this horrible place and never ever have to come back."

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_What is he... _"Brothers?" _I'm all alone. I don't have a brother, or a sister, or a mom, or a dad. I'm all alone. I am by myself where I deserve. No one loves me. No one wants me. I'm just a useless orphan. I don't deserve a family, I deserve to be _"all alone."

"No, No Harry. You aren't alone any more. You have me now, you have a brother. Your Tom, your friend, your brother. Brothers look out for each other. They protect and care for each other, right? Come one Harry, little brother, say you'll trust me. Say that we are together in this and that you can trust me. You can do it, little brother, you won't ever regret it."

_Brothers. I don't have any… but he called me his little brother. He says we're brothers. And brothers protect each other. Ron's brothers protect him even if they are angry with him. Brothers are together. I want… maybe if I just trust one more time…maybe I can… nothing for me to really lose anyway. _"I…I want to trust you. I'm just"

"You're scared. I know, little brother. I know you've been hurt, but not any more. We are together now. We have so much in common. We are so alike in both features and histories. But the past doesn't matter any more. From now on we have to create a new future. A new future without us being alone. We are together now, neither of us has to worry about the future any more because we will have each other to lean on. Neither of us has to ever be alone again."

_I just can't risk…but what else is there. I have no one now, if he hurts me I'll be the same as I am now. But what can I do. Everyone hurts me eventually… but at least he seems to be nicer than everyone else. I have nothing to lose so_

"I trust you… you can take me away now. I won't fight."


End file.
